'You can come back. Ali, Henry Cecil, Lazarus. It can't be that difficult'

Who, apart from anyone under the age of 65, can forget Muhammad Ali’s great comeback against George Foreman? The Rumble in the Jungle, staged in Kinshasa, Zaire, in 1974 was one of the greatest, most celebrated boxing contests of all time.

The unbeaten, fearsome punching Foreman was long odds-on to retain his world heavyweight title against the charismatic former champion, who was considered to be on the wane.

After taking a fearful pummeling, Ali lay back against the ropes, lessening the impact of Foreman’s blows, most of which were to his arms and body. His ‘rope-a-dope’ tactics, accompanied by taunts in Foreman’s ears, drained Foreman’s energy. He punched himself out and, in the eighth round, Ali unleashed a barrage of punches that knocked Foreman out.